Marriage Day 7. Sequoia National Park Day Two. Before heading off to spend another day in the forrest, we sat down to another yummy breakfast and some great conversation with Mauriene and Tim, the couple who run the Log House Lodge in Three Rivers near Sequoia National Park. They go above and beyond to make their guests feel welcome, and Mauriene can cook an unbelievable breakfast. We took it slower today. We purchased picnic food for lunch, and drove to a less crowded area for some wine and sandwiches. I hugged a few trees. I didn’t want the non-Giant Sequoias to feel left out so I hugged some of the Red Woods, and also some of the mossy Green ones. In the afternoon, we toured Crystal Cave which had some amazing waterfalls to see on the hike down to the cave. For dinner, we ate at a Cider Mill place in Three Rivers where the Mister was determined to swat a bee.
Marriage Day Six. Giant Sequoias! It’s been a life long dream of mine to visit Giant Sequoia National Park. It was just magical for my new husband & I to both set eyes on this amazing forrest together. We kept our eyes pealed for black bears heeding all the warnings of locals, and managed to steer clear. We were kind of hoping to see one off in the distance while driving past, but somehow it feels like they decided to stay hidden unlike the sweet dolphins who have been gracing our path numerous times on this amazing trip. We covered much of the park in one day (too much driving actually), but managed to get a great overview so we can slow things down tomorrow. It was faster to take the back roads rather than heading back through the park at the end of the day, so we took a different route back to the Log House Lodge where we are staying.
Marriage Day Four. No Dolphins. Mr. M and I spent the day close to the yurts today. I had a tour of the garden, and we had some time to kick back and explore Treebones properly. We also took a walk back to the cove where we first saw dolphins (on Marriage Day Two). Fog had rolled in for the day, so not much luck seeing dolphins in the cove today. Fog or no fog - the view is incredible.
Marriage Day Three. The Mister and I took a drive to Monterey Bay. We went on a whale watching tour, and saw a couple dolphins and a couple whales. I forget what kind of whales. The tour was not forthcoming with much 411 on whales. We then drove to Carmel beach, and I snuck in a little cat nap before heading back to the yurt.
Treebones Resort - Our Yurt & The Human Nest Campsite. Mister McCuistion & I hope to make this place a yearly visit on the family vaca list for some yearly mental restoration. We could hear sea lions from the oceans below every night. Treebones does not allow amplified sound of any kind outside of the main lodge and cell phones do not work. This place was just what we needed to sit still for a bit and hear our own thoughts. I think the Mister still managed to find an Internet connection, though. DAVE!
Meals at Treebones were the initial draw for me, and they did not disappoint. I found Treebones due to a writeup in Travel+Leisure magazine about their Moroccan tagines made with ingredients fresh from their garden.
Treebones Resort Organic Garden. Cindalee, from Treebones, gave me a full tour of her glorious garden. All this beauty is only in year one of the garden’s existence, can you believe it? Everything serves a functional purpose. I offered to send Cindalee some Moroccan salad recipes for her beets and carrots. YUM!
Marriage Day Two. The Mister and I are settling into luxury yurt life at Treebones Resort today. We ate lunch in Gorda, a town near Treebones. The view was divine. Mister McCuistion was frightened by the spider who was sharing a space near our table. I set a trapped butterfly free from the window it was trying to fly through. I ate blackened halibut. The Mister ate a club sandwich. I could not help myself from noticing how attractive Mister McCuistion is looking with his new wedding band!
We found Dolphins! Right after lunch Mister M and I drove just past the yurts to see what was around the next bend. We parked the car, and started walking down a path that lead us to an amazing view over a cliff. We kept walking, and hung around for awhile when Mister McCuistion spotted a pod of dolphins! They kept us entertained for at least 15 minutes. We would have stayed longer, but decided to see if we might come back in a couple days and try to find them again. It is amazing what you can bump into when you give yourself some extra time to wander about and see what you come across from time to time. What an amazing and generous gift Marriage Day Two has given us!
Marriage Day One. The Honeymoon Begins! Mister McCuistion and I set out for Treebones Resort after packing up all our wedding gear, and leaving Las Vegas this morning. We got a late start, so wedding day one turned out to be a day full on the road. It made for a lot of knitting time for me, some nice audio book time for the two of us (Story of Facebook Founders), and some good chat time. After all the wedding busy-ness, neither of us minded having a little quiet time on the road.
Mister McCuistion likes his big sunglasses. We passed a MASSIVE oil drill area that stretched on for miles. Finally we came across some “wine”-yards and made it to some beautiful countryside. Ah, beauty now shrouded in mystery. Lovely Cali countryside will have to wait to be explored when we make it to Marriage Day Two.
